NBC did a good thing on Tuesday by giving The Blacklist a second season, 22-episode order. I'm not watching many of the new fall shows, but The Blacklist, a deliciously twisty drama starring James Spader as a clever mastermind working with the U.S. government to catch international bad guys, is one of them.The reason?
Well, Spader, of course. No one plays creepy-cool better than Spader, a veteran actor who could make Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sound menacing. As Raymond "Red" Reddington, a nattily-dressed terrorist who was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, Spader is Emmy-worthy superb. Whether he's warning rookie FBI agent Liz Keene (Megan Boone) about her shady husband or simply enjoying a fine wine, Red steals every scene, grabbing viewers by the lapels and daring them to take their eyes off him. And, they can't.
The beauty of Red is that he always knows more than he's telling. And, as a criminal himself, you never quite know when Red is fibbing or telling the truth. Every line is spoken like a double entendre. He's the Chairman of Cryptic-speak. Plus, Red wears a fedora, a suit and Italian leather shoes like no one's business.
The Blacklist employs many of the same elements that made 24 such a hit -- rock 'em, sock 'em, action, duplicitous characters who speak with foreign accents and a charismatic star in the lead role. But, unlike Jack Bauer, Red never shouts. He's too cool for that. Besides, really powerful men don't need to raise their voice. Just an eyebrow.
For NBC, renewing The Blacklist was a no-brainer. The series, after all, has been the network's most watched new drama. “The success of ‘The Blacklist’ demonstrates that inspired storytelling is alive and well in broadcast television, and I’m impressed on a daily basis by this creative team’s imagination and the extent to which they will go to capture this grand vision on film,” Bob Greenblatt, the network's chairman of entertainment, said in a statement.
So far, The Blacklist continues to stay on my must watch list.
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